Mission One
by Lord Lycaon
Summary: Samus tells the tale of her very first mission, long before she fought the Space Pirates on Zebes. A young Samus Aran must face a dangerous criminal who might just be her first true nemesis.
1. Chapter 1

Samus Aran sat at the counter of an old bar on Earth. This was one of the few times in her life where she was able to just relax, at least somewhat. Her latest mission was just completed. She had spent weeks searching for a serial killer by the name of Zephyr. She was forced to kill him, and was thus paid less than she would've liked, but she didn't complain. One less piece of scum for the galaxy to worry about, she believed.

"Another, please," she said, holding up an empty glass. The bartender nodded and went to get the bounty hunter her third serving of scotch. Samus turned in her seat and eyed the other patrons at the bar. Not many people came by here, since it was in a pretty rough neighborhood. That was one of the reasons why she preferred it here. It was mostly quiet here, so it was easier for her to just think. She sighed and leaned back in her seat before turning and facing the counter again.

As soon as she got her glass of liquor, a familiar voice said, "Been a long time since I've seen you, Princess." Samus turned to see none other than Anthony Higgs. She genuinely smiled when she saw him.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It's been a while, huh, Anthony? Feels like just yesterday when got out of the Bottle Ship."

Anthony took a seat next to the bounty hunter and asked the bartender for a simple glass of water. "So, Princess," he said, returning his attention to Samus, "you and I have known each other for a while."

"If you're going to ask for a date after all this time," Samus said as she downed a gulp of scotch, "then too little, too late. I'm not looking for any relationships."

"Nah. I'm just curious about something. You once told me and Commander Malkovich that you were a bounty hunter even before you joined the Federation. And I've been wondering lately, what was your first mission?"

"My first mission?" Samus inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you want to know about that?"

"Just curious," Anthony replied.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Samus stated, waving her glass around slightly. "That's what they say at least."

"Then call me a dead cat," Anthony said jokingly. "Tell me."

Samus leaned back a little, thinking back to all those years ago. "Where should I begin?" She thought about it for several seconds. "I guess I should start with when I had to leave the Chozo. I was fourteen at the time. I already excelled at several forms of combat; shooting, close-quarters, hand-to-hand. I was just a kid, and some of the Chozo already called me a force to be reckoned with. Eventually, a few days after my fourteenth birthday in fact, the one I called my grandfather, Old Bird, came to me."

-o-

"Samus," said a tall, broad-shouldered creature with a birdlike head. He appeared elderly, with large white eyebrows hanging over his bright orange eyes. He wore the traditional robes of the Chozo elders.

A young blond girl with bright blue eyes turned from the shooting range that she had been firing down. She beamed when she saw the elder. "Grandfather!" she said happily as she ran over to meet him. The old Chozo chuckled as the Samus Aran approached him. "What is it, Grandfather? Do you need me for something?"

"Yes," Old Bird replied with a sad smile. "Come, Samus. The Council would like to see you."

"The Council?" Samus asked. The Council was a collective of the wisest minds in the Chozo civilization. They served as the government, being the legislature, executive office, and final jury in all affairs. Despite this power, they were fair and just. Why they would want to see Samus was beyond her.

"They require your presence immediately, Samus," Old Bird said as he turned to lead her to the Council's chamber.

As they walked down the halls and soon the streets of the Chozo city on Zebes, Samus began to wonder why the Council needed to see her. Had she done something wrong that she wasn't aware of? Did she unknowingly commit some sort of crime? Neither of those seemed very likely, but they were the only reasons that she could really think of at the moment. Maybe they were going to ask her to do something for them? But there were plenty of other, more capable people around to do whatever was required.

Soon, they found themselves in front of the building where the Council made their residence. Old Bird opened the doors and ushered Samus in. She had only been here once before, when she was just three years old. She remembered very little about that, but it very slowly came back to her in pieces.

She looked around at the intricately designed walls. Statues of famous Chozo warriors and scholars lined these walls evenly. She never could help but admire Chozo architecture and art. She smiled warmly at each statue. Though she was not really a Chozo herself, she felt a connection with each face she saw.

They then appeared before a huge pair of doubles doors. Each door was designed to look like a giant Chozo was standing guard with a spear in hand. Old Bird approached the doors and pushed them open, then once again ushered Samus in. The young blond girl entered the chamber silently, a look of awe on her face.

Seven pairs of eyes immediately fell on her. She gulped somewhat nervously. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and saw that it was Old Bird, who gave her a reassuring smile. Samus nodded, took a deep breath and walked to the center of the room.

"Samus Aran," said the one in the middle, the Head Councilman. He had a stern look on his face. "It is good of you to have responded to out summons."

"Did I do something wrong, sir?" she asked nervously.

"Of course not," a female Chozo to her far right replied. "We simply believe that the time has come for you to spread your wings."

"What do you mean?"

"Samus," another councilwoman said gently. "You are to leave Zebes. Explore the galaxy, and find your purpose."

"You want me to… leave?" Samus suddenly felt as though she were being banished.

"Our reasoning is not so simple as that," the High Councilman said. "There comes a time in every creature's life when they must leave home and see what cards fate has dealt them. Many of us believe that you are destined for great things someday."

"You have mastered all our teachings far faster than we ever believed possible," a third councilman stated. "You have a certain strength that is hard to break. Your mind is sharp. You are more than ready to forge your own path in the universe."

Samus turned to look at Old Bird, who nodded slowly, smiling sorrowfully. "I… I don't know if I'm ready. And besides, how will I go anywhere beyond Zebes?"

"You will be given a ship," the first councilwoman said. "It will be fast and durable. Whatever life you choose to live, it will do whatever is required of it."

Samus just stared at each of them, her eyes darting from one councilmember to the next, until her gaze eventually went to the floor. "I… I understand." She looked back up at them, smiling. "I will do everything I can to make the Chozo and my ancestors proud of me."

The High Councilman nodded his approval. "You are to take off by dusk tomorrow. Your ship will be easily recognizable. Old Bird will show you to it when the time comes. You are dismissed."

Samus nodded and bowed. She turned and walked away, soon joined by Old Bird. When they left the Council building, Old Bird said, "You must be thrilled, Samus. You have only seen the galaxy in holo-videos and texts. You have always said that you wished to one day explore the universe."

"Yeah, I know," Samus said sadly.

Old Bird looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Samus?"

She trembled slightly for a split-second. "It's just… why so soon? I'm only fourteen. It just seems too early to me."

Old Bird sighed and said, "Samus, you know the Council never makes a decision without careful deliberation. You are indeed strong enough to take off on your own. You are wise beyond your years, incredibly patient for one so young, and you are kind to all creatures who desire peace. You are ready."

"I guess you're right," Samus replied. She still looked rather depressed.

Old Bird grinned slightly. "Samus, what so you say about going out to eat tonight?" She seemed to cheer up a little at that. Her appetite always forced her into a good mood.

-o-

The next day, it was just about time. Old Bird led Samus to the small station where the ship that she was promised awaited. She was both excited to see the universe on her own, and scared for the very same reason. There were so many ways that this could turn out; what if she was never able to return? What if she never _wanted_ to return? This latter thought scared her the most. Zebes was her home. Could she end up finding a new home? She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. She didn't want to think such things.

"We are here," Old Bird announced as he opened a sliding metal door. Samus entered after her surrogate grandfather, only to stop in her tracks. Before her was a sleek, compact, bright orange ship that greatly resembled the helmet to her Power Suit. The windshield was tinted green so that no one could see inside.

"Whoa," she whispered to herself. She approached the Chozo-created shuttle with care. It wasn't the most amazing thing she had ever seen, but appearance clearly wasn't the main idea for the ship. The Chozo normally focused more on efficiency and practicality over vanity and needless flash. "It looks great."

"It is good that it is to your liking," said a male voice. Samus and Old Bird turned to see the High Councilman making his way toward them. He stopped in front of Samus, holding out a metal box with a passcode lock for her to take. "This will be a final gift from us Chozo before you leave. We hope that it finds you well."

Samus accepted the gift. The councilman entered the code for her, and she opened it. Out of the box, she took a light blue jumpsuit that felt like it was designed as a once-size-fits-all uniform. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

"It is called the Zero Suit. It is inlaid with nanotechnology that will respond to your thoughts. Whenever you require your Power Suit, simply think it, and it will appear. Also, the ship already has preset coordinates to a relatively peaceful planet. It is under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Federation." Samus nodded her understanding as she tucked the Zero Suit under her arm. She then faced Old Bird.

"I guess this is goodbye," she said sadly.

Old Bird nodded. "Yes. But it is not forever. We will meet again someday. Just remember everything that you have learned here."

Samus smiled a little. Her hand trembled slightly. "Thank you, Grandfather. For everything." Her eyes slowly began to sting with the early form of tears. "Even if we never see each again, I won't ever forget you."

Old Bird smiled. "No matter the distance between us, Samus," he said warmly, "we shall never truly be apart. I shall keep you forever in my mind as my grandchild."

Samus then ran up to hug the old Chozo, who gasped quietly when he realized that she was completely crying right now. "Grandfather," she said, her voice sounding slightly choked. "I promise I'll come back. I'll make you proud. I'll make the Council proud. I'll make my late parents proud."

Old Bird stroked the girl's head as a true grandparent would. He was already proud of her. "Samus," he said. She looked up at him with a look of slight wonder. He gave one last smile. "I can only wish you the greatest of luck now. Go forth. Master the road ahead of you. And know that this is not our final farewell."

Samus wiped her eyes with her arm and smiled. She nodded, then turned and headed to the ship. She stepped on the platform that brought her up into the shuttle. She sat down in the pilot's seat and looked over at all the different controls and monitors. On her seat's left armrest was blue sphere that she knew was for steering the ship. To her right was a console that she would have to place her right arm into in order to control the rest of the ship's functions.

_This must be why I had to go through all those simulations,_ she thought. She started up the ship, listening to the low growl of the engines as they came to life for what may have been the first time. Slowly, the ship lifted up off the ground. A gate opened above, allowing her to ascend further. Soon, she was high enough to be able launch forward. She sent one last glance to the station she had just exited. She couldn't see Old Bird anymore.

She fought off the need for more tears, and set the ship to head for the set coordinates. She was apparently heading for a planet called "Earth." The ship quickly darted into space, living Samus's home behind.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, they just kicked you out?" Anthony asked with a raised eyebrow. "That seems kind of harsh if you ask me."

"It was for the best," Samus stated as she sipped from her glass. "I was upset at first, of course. Who wouldn't be? Zebes was the only home that I really knew. And afterwards, I never saw Old Bird again. You couldn't imagine what I went through when I found out that all the Chozo had been wiped out." She completely downed the rest of her glass of scotch. "After I left, I landed on Earth. Specifically, I landed at the Galactic Federation HQ."

-o-

Samus stepped off the platform to her ship, stepping onto the cold metal floor of the GFHQ. She was now wearing the Zero Suit, with her personal Paralyzer strapped to her thigh. She walked down the corridor, receiving curious glances from the adult humans that she passed. She shied away from all of them. She had never been in contact with her own species, so it was understandable that she was nervous.

She closed her eyes as she walked, taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. That breath became yelp when she bumped into someone. She stumbled back and looked up at the stern-faced man that she had encountered. He wore the uniform of a high-ranking officer, and gave Samus a hard glare.

"E-excuse me," Samus said nervously. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Who are you?" the man asked. "This is no place for children."

"I-I'm sorry, sir," Samus repeated as she shied away slightly. The man raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "I didn't mean to bump into you. I wasn't paying attention."

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," the man warned. Samus nodded and began to walk away. "Hold on." The girl stopped in her tracks and faced the officer. "Why are you here, kid?"

"I-I'm Samus Aran," she replied somewhat sheepishly. "I was sent off by the Chozo Council in to live my own life."

"The Chozo, eh?" the man asked curiously. This could only be that child that he had heard about, the only survivor of the K-2L attack by the Space Pirates eleven years ago. "Let me guess; you have no idea where to start your life, do you?" Samus nodded. "I see. Well, there's a room over that way," he pointed down the hall, "that has a computer with open jobs of all kinds here. You can start there. Just look for the door that says 'Work Database.'"

"Oh, uh, thank you," Samus said gratefully, nodding her head. She went down the hall, keeping an eye out for the room that the officer had specified to her. She kept examining each door that she passed until she eventually reached her destination. She entered the unlocked room, which contained several holographic computer systems. She went over to the one at the far end of the room and sat down in the chair, the computer's holographic monitor materializing before her.

She scrolled through the list of jobs, none of which really interested her, until she inevitably saw the words "bounty missions." Curious, she opened the file, and was promptly greeted by a long list of names. She tapped one of the names, and a picture of a man appeared, followed by a list of crimes that he had apparently committed, and then the bounty, which wasn't very high. She exited the screen and eyed all the other names.

_So all these people are criminals?_ she thought as she scrolled through the list of names. She clicked another name, and more crimes were listed, but the bounty still wasn't anything significant. She kept going down the list until she hit one name in particular: _Simon Grellick_. She opened the file and read through it:

_Simon Grellick: wanted for: 15 cases of third-degree murder, 23 cases of kidnapping, 12 cases of larceny, 2 cases of arson. Subject description: 34-year-old Caucasian human male, brown hair with full beard, dark green eyes, very strong build, approx. 6'5", approx. 214 lbs. Last witnessed at the Stop Down Casino on Planet Randu. Reward: 5,000,000 Credits._

Samus's eyes widened at the bounty on the man's head. That kind of money could keep her going for years if she was smart with it. She quickly sought out the 'accept' button on the file, finding a key that said "Accept Bounty." She clicked it and was introduced to a small window that asked for her name. She eagerly typed in her name and hit "OK." With that done, the computer shut down, and Samus left the room, feeling damn proud of herself.

She immediately headed for her ship and boarded the craft. She searched for Randu on the ship's built-in star map and quickly received the coordinates to the planet, which was near the rim of the galaxy, barely scraping against Federation space. She set the destination for Simon Grellick's last-known location, and the orange shuttle took off into space.

-o-

Meanwhile, a pair of men sat playing a game of checkers in a room with several monitors. One of the men groaned when one of the monitors let out a slight beeping sound. He went over and checked the screen to see that someone had apparently accepted a bounty mission. They had taken the Simon Grellick case apparently.

"Damn," he said with a joking smirk. "Whoever this Samus Aran is, he's got some serious balls of steel."

"Why's that?" the other man asked.

"He took the Simon Grellick mission."

"Isn't that the guy who's had 31 attempts at capture?"

The first man nodded. "And all the bounty hunters sent to catch him ended up dead." He shook his head, chuckling darkly. "Looks like Sam's gonna meet an early grave."

-o-

**Just so you know, those last guys are completely unimportant, and will never be mentioned again.**


	3. Chapter 3

From what Samus had read from the files on her ship's computer, Randu was a city-planet that was basically one big gambling den. This thought made her somewhat uneasy. She had been raised not to gamble. The Chozo believed that it was a dangerous habit mixing greed, lust, and gluttony into a terrifying addiction. They had games of chance of their own of course, but they rarely actually made any bets on anything. They were mostly just for fun.

It wasn't long before Randu came into sight. It was a relatively small planet. Not much bigger than Zebes really. There were bright, obvious neon lights all over the planet, and countless satellites could be seen in orbit. Samus could also see that her ship was receiving multiple signals, most of them ads and programs that were probably intended for more… mature audiences.

She tried to ignore the messages, but curiosity got the better of her. She flipped on one of the monitors. Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. A human couple were… what were they doing? Could humans really bend like that? Having seen more than enough, she quickly turned the monitor off, believing with total certainty that she had just been scarred for life.

"That was frightening," she muttered to herself as her ship breached Randu's atmosphere. She could now see a myriad of buildings and towers going on as far as the eye could see. They were all covered from top to bottom with neon signs and huge holo-billboards depicting any sort of thing.

Finding a spot land was easy enough. It helped that there were gigantic signs that read "Landing Zone" in every language Samus could think of.

After touching down and exiting her ship, she took a deep breath… and promptly gagged at the stench in the air. It smelled like feces mixed with unholy amounts of alcohol. She was already eager to leave the planet.

Trying to ignore the odor, she headed down the path that led away from the landing site, hoping that Simon Grellick was still at the Stop Down Casino so that she could finish this mission immediately. Realizing that she had no idea where the casino might be, she looked around at her surroundings. A large man happened to be passing by at the moment.

"Excuse me, sir?" she called to the man, who turned. Samus was a bit taken aback by the fact that he had what looked like the head of a bull. She quickly recognized the creature as a Tauran, a hominid with a bull-like head. This particular one had eerie yellow eyes and wore a stereotypical biker outfit. He was easily eight feet tall. He also didn't look to be in a good mood. "Er… sorry to bother you, but do you know where the Stop Down Casino is?"

The Tauran glared at her, then said in an incredibly deep voice, "Down the road that way." He pointed in the direction Samus was already heading in. "Big building. Lots of red lights. Can't miss it unless you're stupid."

"Thank you, sir," Samus said with a polite nod. The Tauran grunted again and walked off, leaving Samus to her own devices. She walked down the road, and eventually, true to the Tauran's word, she found herself in front of the Stop Down Casino. He was right about not being able to miss it. With (surprise, surprise) huge neon signs and bright red lights, it was next to impossible to miss unless you couldn't read or were blind.

She headed in without hesitation… and soon regretted it. The stench within the casino was even worse than what was outside. She came dangerously close to vomiting, but managed to withhold the contents of her stomach. When she got over that, she took a look at the inside of the Stop Down Casino.

It seemed like a fancy enough place… except for the countless slot machines, innumerable guests, and scantily-clad waitresses of varying species. Samus nearly gagged just at those sights. She forced herself further into the building until she finally came up to a bar, where a non-human creature that Samus couldn't identify stood washing ten glasses with the many tentacles that sprouted out of its body.

"Can I help you?" the male creature asked in a somewhat gargled voice.

Samus nodded and said, "I'm looking for a man named Simon Grellick. He was last seen in this casino. Do you know him?"

The bartender put a gangly hand to his chin (?) and seemed to think about that for a few moments. "Middle-aged human fella? Beard and all?"

"Yes, I think that's him," Samus replied hopefully. To her confusion, the alien laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You have no idea how many males come in here who fit that description," he explained with what might've been an amused smirk. "But I know about Simon Grellick. Guy's bad news. Little girl like you shouldn't be going after a man like that."

"I need the money."

The alien raised an… eyebrow? "A bounty hunter, eh?" He chuckled. "Ah, the naïveté of the young. It's always so endearing, but always so tragic."

"What does that mean?"

"Sorry. Just thinking out loud. Grellick's been gone for a few days. But I overheard him talking with some thugs about some kind of deal with a crime lord who lives on Kran. That planet's not too far off from here. Same system and all that jazz. Sixth planet from this system's sun. It's mining world owned by Czaris, a gang leader who I'd be willing to bet is the same crime lord that Grellick mentioned."

"Okay, thank you for the information." Samus gave an appreciative nod and turned to leave the building.

As she approached the exit, however, a tall human man stood in her path. "Hey, kid," he said with a sly grin on his face. "I couldn't help but overhear that you were looking for Simon Grellick."

"Yes, that's right," Samus replied somewhat nervously. "Do you know him?"

"Of course I do," the man replied. He suddenly held up a gun to Samus's head. "I work for him. And I can already tell that you plan on being a thorn in his side. Give up on the chase now, and I might let you go."

Samus stared at the man in shock. She suddenly did the very first thing that came to mind: she back flipped, slamming her foot into the man's jaw. She landed cleanly on her feet and ran from the man, who screamed bloody murder as he began firing at her. The sudden gunfire sent the casino's patrons into a panic, people of all different species sprinting about, trying to find a way out of the building.

Samus instinctively knew that the man was chasing after her, but she was thankfully nimble enough to evade his sloppy shots. She honestly wished that she could say the same for the panicked crowd. But she couldn't focus on the people around her right now, unless they were getting in her way. Her instinct for survival was pretty much the only thing that was running her body at the moment. She needed to live. She didn't truly know why, but she needed to survive.


	4. Chapter 4

Samus leaped over a body – she didn't know if it was alive or not – and weaved past the crowd. She was more than grateful for the enhancement to her speed and agility, one of the gifts granted by the Chozo DNA within her cells. She sidestepped past running casino patron and flipped over fallen members of the mob, all while fleeing from the man who claimed to be one of Simon Grellick's men. Speaking of whom…

"Get back here, you little brat!" he shouted over the noise of the crowd. He fired his gun every time he thought he had a good shot, Samus was able to move just in time to avoid getting hit. The man cursed and reached up to his ear. "She's heading for the elevators! Someone get her!"

As Samus approached what she could only see as an elevator, three more men stood in front of the elevator doors. She stopped momentarily, rapidly looking around for a way out. When her attention fell on a nearby window, she immediately made a beeline for it. Grellick's goons chased after her, pushing and shoving their way through the crowd, while Samus simply bobbed and weaved past everyone. When she got to the window, she lifted her arms to shield her face and leaped forwards, her body breaking through the glass, shards scattering about. She was at least safe now.

Then she looked down.

The ground was at least a thousand yards down. She could never survive that kind of fall. Air rushed past her rapidly as she closed in on terminal velocity. Was this how it would end for her? Was this how she was going to die? This was horrible. She would never be able to make the Chozo proud like this. _I'm sorry, Grandfather,_ she thought as she closed her eyes as tight as she could.

Suddenly, a strong hand took hold of hers, and she felt that she was moving to the side rather than down. She opened her eyes as whoever saved her pulled her up onto hover-bike. The one who saved her life was none other than the Tauran who had told her where the Stop Down Casino was. He pulled her up onto his bike and hit the throttle until they came to a landing strip for vehicles.

"You all right?" the Tauran asked as he let Samus down.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. "Thank you. You saved my life."

"I only saved you because I happened to be around," he said as he stood from his bike, towering over Samus.

"How did you get to me in time though?" Samus asked.

"You looked like you were going to do something stupid," the Tauran answered with his arms crossed, "so I stuck after you for a bit. When I overheard that you were going after Simon Grellick, I thought I should tag along. I've got business to settle with him anyway." He muttered the last part so that Samus could barely hear him.

"What?"

"Nothing. Name's Rej. And you are?"

"Samus Aran. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rej." She held out her hand and waited for Rej to shake it. Rej simply snorted at this.

"Let's not get too familiar with each other," he said in a warning tone. "We're only going to be together for as long as it takes us to get rid of Grellick. Got it?"

Samus backed up a step, taken aback by the Tauran's attitude. Regardless, she nodded her agreement. "Okay. I understand." She turned and started off to where she believed her ship was parked. "Come on. I managed to get a lead on the guy. A nearby mining world called Kran. From there, we'll have to find a man called Czaris."

"Czaris?" Rej asked as he followed Samus. "Damn. I knew Grellick had some powerful allies, but that's just not fair."

"You know him?"

"I know of him. Guy's bad news. He's had all of Kran under his thumb for sixteen years now."

"The whole planet?"

"Yeah. Sneaky bastard schemed and bribed his way to power, then took the government apart piece by piece until it suited him and him alone. He's a crafty son of a bitch. If that's where we're going, then we're already fucked."

"Wow," Samus said with a deadpan expression. "Don't get too excited, buddy."

Soon, they arrived at her ship, where two suspicious-looking people were examining the craft. "That your ship?" Rej asked. Samus nodded. "All right then. Hey, assholes!" The two men gave a startled glance at Rej and Samus, then immediately darted off, probably afraid of Rej. "There. Damn pests. Probably thinking about taking it and selling it to the highest bidder."

"Thanks," Samus said gratefully. As she approached her ship, the lift lowered down, and she stepped onto it. When she was inside, she had the lift lowered again so that Rej could get on as well. When he was onboard, however, it became evident that the Chozo hadn't intended for passengers much larger than themselves. Rej had to crouch and sidestep to fit. His large horns didn't help much either, but he was able to get to the ship's cockpit without much trouble and took a seat. Samus sat down in the pilot's chair and searched the star map for Planet Kran. When she found it, she set it as their destination and told Rej to get ready for takeoff.

As the ship lifted up off the ground, Rej grunted uncomfortably. "I always hated flying," he stated.

"Well, you should think about getting used to it," Samus replied with a joking smile. "I have a feeling that we're going to be doing this a lot."

"Yippee," the Tauran muttered as they took off and exited Randu's atmosphere.

-o-

The man reclined in his seat, his feet propped upon his desk, whistling a cheerful tune. He had just managed to make a deal with a… "business tycoon," who was more than willing to accept all the laborers that he had gotten his hands on. Life was good for Simon Grellick.

His holo-phone suddenly started beeping, and he pressed the answer button. "What is it?" he asked the caller.

"Mr. Grellick, it looks like you've got another bounty hunter looking for you," one of Simon's henchmen replied. "She's just a kid though, so she couldn't possibly cause too much trouble for us."

"A kid?" Grellick asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's unusual. How old?"

"I… don't know, sir. Fourteen maybe? Why?"

Grellick smirked, a nasty gleam in his eye. "Well, that's just perfect. Just so happens that fourteen-year-old girls are in high demand these days. Get 'er alive. Kill anyone who tries to get in the way, and bring 'er to me. I'll break 'er in a night."

"Right, boss," the goon said as he closed the call.

Grellick grinned to himself. "'Walk into my parlor,' said the spider to the fly." He laughed to himself, looking forward to whatever may be coming.


End file.
